Exploring Primary School Students' Academic Emotions and Learning Achievement in an Immersive Virtual Reality Science Classroom

Abstract

The advancement in immersive virtual reality (IVR) offers many opportunities for science education. This study investigated the effects of an integrated IVR-based classroom on primary school students' academic emotions and learning achievement. A total of 44 fifth-grade students from primary schools (one primary school in northeast China) were recruited as participants. We used an academic emotion questionnaire to survey students' class-related academic emotions and knowledge post-test so as to measure the students' understanding of the IVR science lesson. The results show that most of the primary school students experienced positive academic emotions (e.g., enjoyment and hope) before the class, and “enjoyment”, “hope”, and “pride” during the class, as well as “enjoyment” and “pride” after the class. Students experienced greater positive emotions than negative emotions. Moreover, they displayed a better understanding of the scientific material taught.